Together in Solitude
by SunnyD545
Summary: What is the opposite of love? How long does it take to fall in love? Shikamaru doesn't particularly know the answer to such questions. He would like to know soon however, because it's getting late and neither of them have eaten dinner. Plus, all this paperwork might actually kill him.
I do not own Naruto or any characters within its chaos.

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When it comes down to it, there wasn't anything particularly special about that night. Even the day leading to the evening leading to that moment was particularly normal. There wasn't any particular reason he asked. There wasn't any particular answer he was looking for. The only thing that particularly mattered, in the end, was who he was talking to.

"Do you believe in love at first sight?"

"What?"

"Do you?"

"No."

"No?"

"No. It's a ridiculous idea. Love is a deep emotion, brought on through understanding and acceptance. As if one look at someone is enough to come to such a sure conclusion. That's just ignorance."

"Then it's probably safe to assume you do not believe in destiny."

"Probably."

They were working all day. They always seemed to work from morning to night. It's so tiring, he thinks. Preparing for the Chūnin exams had proven to be an even greater task that he had expected, and he's been at it for almost a year now. It proved to be even more troublesome when she showed up as the Liaison. But, having Temari as a co-worker had as many bonuses as it did fallbacks. For one, she was a slave driver. For another, she was interesting. She would push him to work harder than even his own mother could, and match wit with every excuse he gave to quit.

A conversation with Temari never failed to hold his attention.

"Suppose someone does have strong feelings for a person they just met. What would you call that, if not love?"

"Lust. Attraction. I don't know. Just not love. Lust can be all about appearances and behavior. You can be attracted to someone without really knowing anything about them but their clothing and drink choices."

"But you cannot love them."

"Exactly."

She was the type to get the job done because she was told to. At first, he thought it was diligence; he had thought she was a hard worker and enjoyed the satisfaction of a job well done. Now, he knows better. She does the work quick and right the first time because she doesn't like it. She never once enjoyed writing reports and looking through documents. But she does it anyway because it's her orders. He's the same. At this point, the only difference between them is the speed at which they both want to get their suffering over with.

Temari likes to finish in one fell swoop then have a hot cup of tea.

He would prefer to take as much time as he can and nap away his afternoons.

"How long does it take to fall in love? If it's not that instant feeling, how long would it take to turn attraction into love?"

"A while. Years probably. It's not something that just develops overnight. You can't spend one day with a person and wake up the next day in love."

"How many years?"

"What? How should I know? It's not an exact science, Shikamaru! It's different for everybody and depends on how long it takes for the two people to get to know each other. Why are you even asking me about this stupid stuff?"

"Is love stupid?"

"What? No. Of course not. But. Well, it is rare."

"It seems like lots of people fall in love, all the time."

"No. Couples that have been together for a few months or even a couple of years are not in love. It's just affection. A honeymoon phase. Making goo-goo eyes at each other and going on silly dates isn't love."

"I think they may argue with you on that."

"Let them. See what I care. I can smack all those fools around, no problem."

She was blunt, brass, and beautiful. The superlative of both women and trouble alike. It's surprising how often those two tended to overlap. Her title was the Cruelest Kunoichi, which she has no trouble proving again and again. Despite this spitfire personality, she followed orders well. She did what her superiors asked, but she never bowed to their will. She had pride, perhaps far too much of it, but it was this pride that made her unstoppable on all fronts. She was the honorable type. Equally, she had shown to be the devoted type as well. Her loyalty to her brothers alone proved that much. She never betrayed those who she deemed comrades. She never spoke dishonestly. She stood by others and her words with unwavering will.

He knew for a fact that, despite her title, Temari knew how to love.

"So love is rare. Is that because it takes so long to develop?"

"Well, for the most part. It's rare because people don't take their time to develop it. They just rush into things and don't think about how relationships work. The chance for love never happens because they grow tired of each other first."

"So they hate each other before they fall in love? How troublesome."

"No. Hate and love are not opposites. Hate is born of ignorance, but is just as passionate as love. It's an emotion that is born from something deeper than initial reactions, just like love. You hate something because you don't understand it. You hate because it's not what you are used to and you do not want to try to grow accustomed to it. Hate is what you feel when you are afraid of the unknown."

"I see."

"Don't be a smartass, Shikamaru."

Temari, despite all her attempts to be rough and tough, cared just as much as anyone else. She was probably in league with the best of the best in covering such emotions, but still. He knew better than to just accept the cover story of Temari. For the last couple of years, she had traveled back and forth, trying to restore the balance between their different villages. Every time, he was asked to be her guide. They'd worked on many assignments just for the Chūnin Exam alone, and he would be lying if they weren't some of his favorite days of the year. Time had only proven her wit, her generosity and her passion. Temari was not a wallflower kind of girl. But she wasn't one for the spotlight either. She just existed in some sort of between, which is why she could probably handle her job as well as she did. She had a way she did things, and he just so happened to be able to adapt to match those ways. They worked well together because they both knew how to do their job. They both knew what was really important.

"Then, what is the opposite of love? You say love is understanding and acceptance, and hate is ignorance and rejection. They sound like opposites to me."

"The opposite of love is solitude."

"Solitude."

"Yes."

"Care to elaborate?"

"Love is understanding and acceptance. Solitude is understanding and rejection. One requires at least two people. The other needs only yourself."

"I don't know if I quite understand."

"It's either one or the other. You either want to be with someone, or you don't."

"That seems rather troublesome."

"It always is."

There were times where he wondered what it was like to live the life Temari had. He didn't do it often, or consciously. Sometimes—most times—he would be lounging somewhere, staring at clouds and the thought would appear. Was the dry heat of the desert to blame? Was it her family? Her brother? Her upbringing? Her training? Temari didn't complain about anything in particular about herself. She never liked gossip or insulting others behind their backs. Nothing about her was nearly that passive. And she certainly didn't care for pity or sympathy in any way. She was more likely to smack you for just insinuating that you felt bad for her. But then again, she tended to smack him for a lot of things. She'd hit him for being lazy; she hit him for being late. She would hit him for what he would say; she's always hit him for what he didn't.

Never once did he feel sorry for her though. Never once did she have to hit him for that.

"Do you prefer solitude?"

"Over what?"

"Love, I suppose."

"No. Just because I'm not in love with someone doesn't mean I like it that way."

"So you're searching."

"Not really. My plan is to just keep living my life. If it happens, it happens. I told you: love takes time. You can't force it."

"It would seem that it takes two to be in love though, correct? If that's the case, you have to find someone else to finish the pair."

"Hm. I suppose so. But I don't see the point in going on a man-hunt or something equally stupid."

"In that case, would you be willing to share your solitude with me?"

"What?"

"I'm not really in love either. And I'm not in the mood to search. You said it takes years, but right now, it's just about dinner time. Since we're both in solitude, we might as well go together."

"Wait. Did you just ask me to dinner?"

"I asked you to share your solitude with me."

"That has to be the stupidest pick-up line I've ever heard, Shikamaru."

"I don't know. I thought I planned it out fairly well."

"Seriously? After all that philosophical build up. You're such an idiot."

"It was a rather deep. Insightful too. I want to know: do you hate me Temari?"

"What? Well, no. You are a lazy ass, crybaby who doesn't do his work. But, I don't hate you. Your loyal to your friends and village, after all. I admire that."

"Hm. And you don't enjoy solitude, correct?"

"For the love of… Shut up, Shikamaru. Let's just go get dinner."

"Together?"

"Well, since we're both in solitude."

"Alright, troublesome woman. Oh. I don't suppose you would be willing to spend tomorrow's solitude with me as well, would you?"

"Don't get ahead of yourself. You act as though I'm going to be in solitude forever."

"I'm only asking for tomorrow. We have the afternoon off for all those meetings. Besides, I thought you said love takes time."

"It does. And I never said I was going to be in love by tomorrow. I just mean that the future isn't set in stone."

"Yeah, that is true. Though it doesn't really matter."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, even if you did fall in love tomorrow, as unlikely as it is— you would still spend the afternoon with me."

"Cocky, aren't you?"

"No, I just understand the situation. And I'm a little more accepting of it than you."

"You still sound pretty damn confident to me."

"Ah, well. I am eager to get out of solitude."

"And fall in love? Since when? Doesn't that seem too 'troublesome' for you?"

"Well, you said it takes two. And, if that's the case, I need to wait until you're tired of solitude as well. As troublesome as it is, I might as well wait for love with you."

"So this is all on me now? Somehow, I'm not surprised."

She had a habit of getting annoyed with him a lot. She had a habit of scowling and hitting him with her big fan often. She also had a habit of yelling at him and insulting him whenever she could. What were not a habit, were her smiles. At most, she could offer a political smile for stuffy meetings. Any other time, she sneered or smirked or scowled. Her real smiles were as rare as an oasis in the desert. Although, he found them to be just as refreshing and wonderful. She didn't grace others with her smile. At least, not if she could consciously help it. He, however, had found plenty of ways to catch her off guard. Probably just as many ways as she found to get back at him for annoying her.

"You do realize that love takes years to develop, right?"

"I believe you already established that, yes."

"Are you sure you want to be in solitude with me for that long?"

"Well, I figure, with all the time we spend in solitude together, things won't be that much different when we're in love."

"I see. You still sound too cocky for my taste. But, you're sure you want to be in solitude with me?"

"I believe I already said that, troublesome woman."

"Shut up; I just wanted to make sure you knew what you were getting yourself into, Crybaby."

"I have a pretty good idea, you know. I've thought enough steps ahead to know this is the best move."

"Oh? Which move is that?"

"Dinner, woman. Let's go; it's late and we can finish all this work tomorrow morning."

"Hm. Fine, fine. If, you do all the filing."

"What, troublesome woman? You were going to make me do that anyway."

At that moment, her replying grin was so full of mirth that her eyes sparked in the darkened room. Without thinking about it, a wry smile pulled across his own thin lips. It's always the same with her. A mix of wit and pride and intelligence all rolled up into one troublesome, beautiful woman. He hopes that fact never changes. He's willing to work as hard as necessary to keep things between them as interesting as possible. Not that he would ever tell Temari that.

"Aw, looks like you're onto me. I guess they don't call you a genius for nothing. Let's get dinner, Crybaby."

"Finally. And here I thought I'd have to spend my solitude alone and starving."

"Didn't I tell you to shut up?"

"Did you? I must have forgotten."


End file.
